Virtual entities, such as virtual characters, may be modeled by a bone structure and an exterior “skin” that deforms as bones bend around joints. Skin deformation methods, sometimes referred to as “skinning algorithms,” may dictate the way in which the skin reacts to bone movement. Skin deformation methods that work across a broad range of character designs and poses may be implemented to create compelling animations. Linear blend skinning (LBS) and dual quaternion skinning (DQS) are some methods. These and other skin deformation methods may be used for real-time applications. Both techniques may be efficient to compute and may be effective for many purposes. However, they may cause artifacts in the skin deflection, such as collapsing joints, a candy wrapper twist, and/or bulging around joints.